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The Truth About Maca: Why Cheap Maca Doesn't Work

Since Maca's global commercialization in the early 2000s, the world market has been flooded with cheaper alternatives. In 2015, China took the lead in the Maca trade, causing prices to crash and forcing many Peruvian farmers to stop planting.

This article explains how and why Peruvian Maca is unique, detailing the inferior competition and why quality-focused companies like ours had to stand firm even during the scarcest planting seasons (like 2018-2019).


How the Maca Treasure Was Stolen

Since the early 2000s, attempts were made to seize Peru's treasure. In 2002, the Peruvian government banned the export of whole Maca roots and seeds to protect its national interest.

Despite this ban, Chinese groups illegally exported seed material across the poorly guarded Bolivian border for cultivation in the mountainous Chinese province of Yunnan.

Why the Chinese Project Failed:

  •    • Soil and Climate: The project never succeeded due to the significant difference in soil composition and unsuitable climatic conditions.

  •    • Degeneration: Chinese maca roots have severely degenerated, often resembling ginger, primarily due to the excessive use of potentially carcinogenic fertilizers.

It is scientifically proven that Peruvian Maca is an original product, critically dependent on the unique high-altitude ecosystem of the Andes (3,900-4,300 m) and its mineral-rich soil near the Equator. (To learn more, read the conclusions of the American Botanical Council by clicking on the text.)


The Quality Crisis in the Peruvian Market

Even within Peru, controlling quality can be difficult. Many traders mixed Maca with other, cheaper ingredients (such as banana or algarrobo powder) or processed roots of poor quality.

The situation became critically scarce by the summer of 2020. The latest trade deception involves the import of cheap Chinese maca into Peru, which is then re-sold to global buyers with counterfeit "Peruvian" certificates of origin.

This flood of cheap, ineffective Chinese product has led to two major problems:

  1.    1. Global distributors switched to the more profitable, low-quality supply.

  2.    2, Consumers do not feel the effect of the Chinese variety and stop consuming Maca entirely.


  3. The Measure of True Peruvian Maca

    The genuine power of Peruvian Maca lies in the concentration of its unique active compounds: macaenes and macamides.

    These alkaloids are known to be the most effective natural support for the pituitary gland, a critical endocrine regulator whose function declines with age. Only authentic Peruvian Maca contains these compounds in sufficient concentration.


  4. Maca VarietyMacaene & Macamide Concentration
    Nuestra Maca (Gelatinized)0.94% (Lab Verified)
    Best Recorded Peruvian Maca0.72%
    Typical Chinese Maca0.01% - 0.05%

(We invite you to download and review the analysis of our gelatinized Maca powder by clicking on the analysis.) 


Protect Your Health: Choose Nuestra Maca

Don't settle for counterfeit Maca that offers no real benefits. By choosing one of the Nuestra Maca products, you are preserving the authenticity of original Peruvian Maca and investing in your own health.

(For more information on our products and prices, click on the online store.)